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We are kicking off our fall line-up on Friday, September 5 with performance from Toronto based artist Kat Burns. Kat is touring intimate spaces and house concerts playing solo sets of select KASHKA and Forest City Lovers songs, exploring much of her discography over the last few years.

If aren’t familiar with her work check out a few videos. It’s going to be a great show so come out, enjoy and show your support!

“I was born and raised in British Columbia and initially studied art and design at Camosun College in Victoria, BC. I later received my BFA (Interdisciplinary) degree from NSCAD University in Halifax, NS in 2007. I’m an award-winning artist who has shown work across the country. My work is in numerous public and private collections. I’m also a freelance graphic designer and run my own design business, John van der Woude Designs. You can check out my design portfolio at www.jvdwdesigns.com. I currently live in Kelowna, BC.

This series of photographs of popular breakfast cereals, named Cereals, are an homage to this childhood ritual and can serve both as a pleasant memory of these experiences and as an alarming reminder of what it is that we were eating as children – essentially a noxious combination of sugar and grains. When these individually isolated cereals are blown-up to a size much larger than life, the textures, the production quality and the similarities than run through all of these cereals become visible. It’s a casual reminder of some of our most pleasant childhood memories, but also that some things are best left to childhood.”

“Cynthia Gunsinger is happy to be living and painting in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, after a retreat to Squam Art Workshops in New Hampshire in 2008 uncoiled her yearning for paint and glue on her fingers. Longtime crafter and textile artist, Cynthia uses acrylics, mixed media and abstraction playfully in her colourful collections.”

We are thrilled to have the paintings of our very own Liz Ranney on our walls for the month of June! Liz is part of our Streaming Cafe team, and is a local artist working and living in the downtown Kelowna core. Come down to the cafe to see Liz and her artwork in person!

“Liz Ranney graduated with a BFA in 2012 from UBC Okanagan with distinction, and has been instructing art through a variety of establishments (including her current residency at ‘heART school kelowna’) for the past three years. Some of Liz Ranney’s more exciting projects include large scale commissioned murals made in the Okanagan in collaboration with her husband Dylan Ranney (MYNT), graphics commissioned for local companies and musicians, and working in partnership with Claro Learning Centre, Canadian Mental Health Association, Keloha Music & Arts Festival (2013), Lillegard Music & Arts Festival (2013-14), and Davara. Liz is a painter, media artist, and illustrator. She dreams to pursue art therapy. Her artwork is as much about self-expression as it is about engaging a viewer. Liz Ranney’s artwork is based on family connections, overlapping fragmented imagery and history. Working primarily as a portrait artist, her mixed media paintings contain traces of the abstract, weaving in elements of drawing, resulting in an amalgamation of loose movements and detailed expressions. Her paintings display bold colors that represent forms and figures with heightened energy. Her artwork is centered on community, tracing family connections, and exploration.”

Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Hilary Grist is proud to announce the release of her sophomore album titled Come & Go. Known for her signature blend of firefly folk dipped in dreamy, jazzy art pop, as well as her quirky creative flare for visual art and video, Come & Go will be released independently on June 10, 2014 in Canada. The album will be available for pre-order via iTunes on May 13. To get a little taste of what to expect on Grist’s latest LP, check out the brilliantly quirky film noir short for the track “Waltzing Matilda” HERE.

As the follow-up record to Grist’s well-received debut solo album Imaginings, Come & Go showcases 10 stylistically diverse and compelling new tracks with elaborate and enchanting soundscapes. From the upbeat, happy-go-lucky whimsical track “Chemical Reaction” that showcases Grist’s indie rock side– with finger snaps and all, to the title track that brings her impressive vocal range to the forefront of a dramatic piano-driven ballad, Come & Go features a beautiful blend of styles that borrows from acts like Feist, Norah Jones and Neko Case without being derivative of any single one.

Produced by Grist’s husband and frequent collaborator, Mike Southworth, and featuring revered guest producer Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, 54-50) on “Chemical Reaction”, the underlying theme that ties together the stylistically diverse pieces throughout the record is duality – things joining together and falling apart, starting and stopping, coming and going. It’s the space between these opposing entities that Grist’s lyrics explore over the course of her latest collection, adding even more depth to her orchestrations.

Born in Quesnel, BC and raised in Maple Ridge, Hilary Grist has spent the past few years charming audiences across the globe with her poignant musical and visual creations. To date, Grist has released 2 live-off-the floor EPs, a winter EP, one full-length studio album and has performed at high-profile events at home and abroad, including NXNE and CMW in Toronto, the Busain International Rock Festival and Ulsan World Music Festival in Korea, the Edge of the World Festival in Haida Gwaii, and the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival in BC. Her captivating, cinematic songs have been featured in a vast number of international TV shows, including Grimm (NBC), Being Human (NBC/Syfy), Arctic Air (CBC), and Degrassi (MuchMusic). She’s also a perennial favourite of taste-making campus stations across the continent, is featured regularly on the CBC, and has been heralded by critics like Alan Cross and CBC’s Lana Gay and countless press outlets, including The Province and Vancouver Sun.

What’s more, the accolades extend beyond music and into other media. From hand-drawn and chalkboard-animated music videos to cardboard cityscapes, colourful e-cards, and beyond, Grist’s output isn’t limited to cleverly crafted pop songs. She even has a children’s book with an accompanying soundtrack in the works.

BIOthe lion the bear the fox took over thirty years to find each other, but only one month for Christopher Arruda (the lion), Cory Woodward (the bear) and Ryan McMahon (the fox) to realize they were meant to join their voices as one. The Nanaimo Daily News calls the trio “a musical force of nature” to be reckoned with. With over three decades combined experience, the trio are currently immersed in production for their debut EP ‘We’d Be Good Men’, release date October 1st of this year. 2013 will be the year the lion the bear the fox bring their heartfelt songs and larger than life sound to the rugged Canadian terrain that continues to inspire them.

New York-based drummer, composer, and bandleader, Curtis Nowosad, has developed a reputation as a highly-skilled, versatile, and forward-thinking musician. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Curtis became recognized as the face of the new generation of jazz players in Winnipeg, and his quartet is one of the best in Canada, featuring two internationally-recognized New York ex-pats, Steve Kirby on bass, and Derrick Gardner on trumpet, along with virtuoso pianist Will Bonness.

The quartet is featured alongside tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, pianist Taylor Eigsti, and other special guests, on The Skeptic & the Cynic, a collection of instrumental jazz covers by popular artists such as Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, Black Star, and 2Pac, which are complemented by Curtis’ original compositions.

The Streaming Cafe has new photography on our walls for the month of April by Nils Loewen! Come to the cafe to see his photos in person.

‘Cloudscapes’ by Nils Loewen

“There is always more than the eye or the camera can see. Through layered exposures and digital manipulation, unseen colours and depth emerge to reflect reality – that there is always more than we can see.

Nils moved from Winnipeg to the Okanagan in 2012 to play cello in the duo ‘Windborn’. He is now involved in the musical and artistic community of Kelowna as much as possible between extensive touring and summers spent treeplanting.”

This month marks the fifth year since we opened the doors of the cafe to the public. It has been an amazing pleasure to see our space develop not only into a respected music venue, but a place for our local community to experience and exchange in arts, culture, technology and good coffee!

Taking on year five, I can’t help but feel reflective (and maybe brag a bit) on what we have been able to share with so many. Since pulling our first espresso in 2009, we have had the pleasure of hosting over 450 performers, each one of those live performances living on longer then just the moment – being live streamed and cataloged for future viewing and listening pleasure (Our youtube is boasting over 1.3 million views). What excites me most about those numbers is too know that we may have served a small part in promoting and sharing Canadian music to so many. Show after show, I am humbled by the consistent crowd that comes out in support of live original independent music. Our audience (you!) have been such a huge part in creating our space – a venue to come listen and discover. Week after week, our performing artists comment on what a great listening audience we have. So thank you!

For the last five years our Saturday night shows have been free to attend. You may or may not know that we pay our artists to come and perform at the cafe week after week. Starting in April there will be a small door cover charge of just $5, with all proceeds going directly into the artists pocket.

We hope to continue to bring quality live music to Kelowna for many years to come, so thank you for your continued support and passion for the music scene.

The Streaming Cafe is excited to have the artwork of Marissa Baerg on display for the remainder of march! Marissa paints beautiful imagery and scenic landscapes with coffee pigments. Come to the Streaming Cafe to see her work in person.

These are some of the words that have been defining characteristics in Marissa’s life. She is an adventurer at heart and has had the privilege of traveling and living all over the world. As a self-taught artist with a love for variety and experimentation, she is often seen trying out new styles and techniques. Having explored many diverse cultures, her inspiration can often come from the most unique places.
Her newest series of paintings was originally influenced during a recent trip to Mexico. She encountered a local Mexican artist that was exploring coffee as his painting medium. She was intrigued and idea stuck with her. Since then Marissa has taken the idea of painting with coffee and incorporated it into her art.”

If you’d like to participate in her artistic journey please feel free to contact her.